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(No Model.) DE WITT 0. COLE.

OORSET FASTENING. No. 466,902. Patented Jan. 12,1892.

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ATENT DE TVITT O. COLE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CORSET-FASTENING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. $66,902, dated January12, 1892. Application filed November 7, 1891. $erial No. 411,163. (Nomodel.)

1'0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DE WITT O. COLE, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of New York, in the State of New York,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Oorset-Fastenings,of which the following is a specification.

My improvement relates to the construction of the fasteners and to themeans for holding and releasing them. It allows the corset to be heldsecurely and strongly at as many points as maybe required andto befastened with ease, and especially to be liberated instantaneously whendesired. It is common to have two steels extending up and down, one ateach of the edges, which are to be joined and detached at will. A commonform of fastener is to have a headed post standing rivetwise in onesteel and engagingin a closed slot in a plate riveted to the othersteel, the inner end of the closed slot being large enough to receivethe head and the rest of the slot extending horizontally therefrom beingonly of a width sufficient to receive the shank.

I have in a patent to me dated October28, 1890, No. 438,385, described afastener in which there are on one steel plates each having openhorizontal slots with a large hole at the inner end of each, which largehole receives the head of the corresponding post carried on the othersteel. This fastener allows the posts to each move a little distance inits proper slot, and then causes it to be arrested by being received ina hole in a spring-plate riveted on the outer face of the main plate.The spring-plate, until it is lifted by the finger, retains the post notonly against the escape through the slot by the direct pull to which itis ordinarily subjected when the corset is in use, but also prevents thepost being detached by being moved backward when in any emergency thecorset is compressed or drawn together.

The present improved corset employs an ordinary fastener of theconstruction first briefly described at the bottom of the series, andone of my fasteners set forth in the said patent of 1890 at the top ofthe series. The intermediate fasteners, usually three, (but the numbermay be greater or less,) are of a peculiar construction. They have openslots opening outward, but the slots are inclined all in the samedirection. I have in my experiments inclined them downward, and willdescribe the invention as thus carried out. The posts are retained insuch inclined slots so long as the corset is in use, and are allowed tomove downward and outward through them when the wearer desires to detachthe fasteners. The posts, instead of moving out by a horizontalmovement, move downward obliquely. This movement downward by one steelrelatively to the other in the act of being disengaged renders itpossible to hold the fasteners engaged, and to effect their liberation,when desired, by a different method from that involved in my previouspatent.

The posts are received through a sufficient hole in the plate in theordinary and longapproved manner. To retain them,it is only necessary toprovide efficient means to resist any endwise movement of the steelsrelatively to each other. I employ two fasteners for this purpose, eachadapted to resist the end movement, located one at the top and the otherat the bottom of the steels. The uppermost is, as before stated, myfastener of 1890 and the lowermost an ordinary plain fastener. Theintermediate fasteners have eachaspringplate; but these plates do notrequire to be lifted to liberate their several posts. The only functionof the spring-plate in these intermediate fasteners is to prevent suchfastener being detached by the backward movement of the post-in theslot. The large hole in the main plate receives the post, as in theprevious patent referred to, and allows it to be moved laterally alittle. The first or inner part of the slot in this the main plate ishorizontal, as in the previous form,and allows the post to movehorizontally outward to the place in which it is to be retained. Themovement of the post in this part of the slot is the same as in theprevious patent, and the springplate, in allowing this part of themovement of the post, rises a little to allow the head to so move, andsnaps inward behind the head to prevent its return.

I have in my experiments inclined the several slots downward at an angleof about sixty degrees from the horizontal. The angle should not exceedthe angle of friction. It is important that the post be not only free tomove downward and escape Whenthe other fasteners which resist the endmotion are detached and the steels are allowed to move endwiserelatively to each other, but also that the angle shall be such that theordinary distending force on the corset shall be sure to move the postsdownward or upward, according to the inclination, and thus promptlyliberate the fastenings without requiring any assistance beyond thesimple distending strain.

One fastener to resist the end strain would be sufficient, but two arecompletely reliable. It is easy to obtain access to liberate thefasteners at the top and bottom, which prevent the end movement.

1 The accompanying drawings form apart of this specification andrepresent what I consider the best means of carrying out the invention.

Figure l is a front View of the steels with the fasteners engaged. Fig.2 is acorresponding view with the fasteners disengaged. The remainingfigures show details of one of the intermediate clasps on a largerscale. Fig. 3 is a face view of the spring-plate. Fig. 4 is acorresponding View of the main plate. Fig. 5 is a face View of the twoplates properly superposed and riveted to the steel. Fig. 6 is ahorizontal section showing the same with the opposite steel in positionand with the post engaged.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures where they appear.

As in my previous patent referred to, A and B are two steels, and A Aare posts stiffly set in the steel A. These posts have each asufficiently stout shank for strength and a larger head at the front orouter end. The fastener at the top is that described in my patent of1890 referred to. The fastener at the lower end is composed of a singleordinary plate M, riveted to the part B and having a sufficiently-largehole to receive the head ofthe corresponding post A and a closed slotextending horizontally a little distance therefrom and then completelyarrested. The post on being thrust through the large hole and allowed tomove outward in this horizontal closed slot is held in the ordinarymanner. The shank of the post fills the slot, so that there is noappreciable end play. The two steels are held by these fastenings, sothat they can not be moved endwise rela tively to each other until thesefasteners are both detached. The detaching of these,when required, iseffected in the ordinary manner, the lowermost by forcing the steelstogether and removing the head by an inward movement through the hole inwhich it was entered, and then the upper fastener isliberated, asdescribed in the patentot 1890, by simply lifting the spring-plate.

The intermediate fastenings are peculiar. They are each composed of aninner or main plate D and an outer or spring-plate E. The inner plate Dhas a large hole d, which allows the head of the post to be entered inthe same manner as the ordinary fastening. There are two parts of theslot leading from the central hole outward. The first portion 61' ishorizontal and allows the post to move outward in obedience to theordinary distending strain of the corset. A second and important part (Zof the slot is inclined downward obliquely. The inclination may bevaried. Forty-five degrees would serve well. I prefer an angle of aboutsixty degrees, as shown.

The spring-plate E is formed as in my previous patent with a domedportion E immediately over the hole 01; but instead of having simply ahole at. 6 over the angle where the slot in the back plate D changes itsdirection from the horizontal portion (1, I have an inclined slot 6 inthis spring-'plate-E, coinciding in inclination and in position with theinclined portion (1 of the slot below'oi' behind it. The extension ofthe spring-plate E outward beyond the main plate D,- which forms animportant and necessary feature in my previous patent referred to is notrequired in the present fastener. I allow the spring plate to terminatewith a smoothly-rounded end flush with the end of the main plate D.

In putting on the corset the wearer engages, first, the fastening of1890 at the top. This, in addition to holding the steels together,forbids the movement of the steels endwise rel atively to each other.Then the wearer successively engages the several middle fastenings,making the same movement to engage them as with the upper, simplythrusting the post forward through the hole (1, and allowing it to moveby the ordinary distending strain through the horizontal portion d ofthe slot. Lastly, she engages the lower and ordinary fastening in theordinary way. The corset is now reliably secured at each=of the severalpoints.

To remove the corset the wearer liberates the bottom fastening by theordinary movement, drawing the steels together and moving the head Ainward through the hole m. Then she detaches the upper fastening, thatdescribed in my patent of 1890, by a simple deflecting of thespring-plate outward by the fingers. Now the steels are free to moveendwise relatively to each'otheigand they instantly do so, impelled bythe inclinationof the grooves d 6 and the several posts escapeautomatically from the inclined slots and the corset is unfastened.

Modifications may be made without departing from the principle orsacrificing the advantages of the invention. There may be only myfastening of 1890, shownat thetop, or only the ordinary fastening, shownat the bottom, to resist the end movement of the steels. The position ofthese parts may be reversed, the ordinary fastening at the top and myfastening of 1890 at the bottom. I can use my fastening of 1890 at boththe top and bottom or the ordinary fastening at both these points, and Ican work with some success by using other means than either suchfastening, so long as it is capable of cffectually resisting the endmovement of the steels relatively to each other and capable of beingreadily disengaged or unlocked when required. There may be a greater orless number of my peculiar fastenings with their inclined slots. Iprefer to have my fastener of 1890 at the top and an ordinary fastenerat the bottom, and all the intermediate fastenings of the newconstruction described.

I claim as my invention- 7 1. The steel B, plates D, having similarinclined slots (Z and the steel A and posts A set therein, incombination with each other and with the spring-plate E for each plateD, provided with a corresponding inclined way e adapted to prevent abackward movement of the post, and with means for resisting or allowingthe end motion of the steels relatively to each other at will, as hereinspecified.

2. The steel B, plates D, having similar inclined slots d and the steelA and posts A set therein, in combination with each other and with thespring-plate E for each plate D,

provided with a corresponding inclined way c and adapted topreventabackward movement of the post, a fastening provided with ahorizontal guideway, the latter having also a spring-plate with a handleor wing to allow it to be conveniently lifted, so as to liberate itspost by a horizontal movement of the latter, all substantially as hereinspecified.

3. The steel B, plates D, having similar inclined slots d and the steelA and post A set therein, in combination with the springplate E for eachplate D, provided with a corresponding inclined way adapted to prevent abackward movement of the post, and with two additionalfasteningsarranged at the top and bottom, respectively, each adapted tore sist an end movement of the steels relatively to each other, and tobe easily liberated when required, as herein specified.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth I aflix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

DE WITT O. COLE. WVitnesses:

CHARLES R. SEARLE, M. F. BOYLE.

